Parliament Question: Prevention of cyber financial fraud

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 553 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 4TH FEBRUARY, 2026/ MAGHA 15, 1947 (SAKA) PREVENTION OF CYBER FINANCIAL FRAUD 553 # SMT. DARSHANA SINGH: Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) the new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) implemented recently by the Ministry in view of the rising incidents of cyber financial fraud in the country; (b) the steps taken under these SOPs to strengthen coordination mechanisms with States and Union Territories; (c) the State-wise details indicating increase or decrease in cases of cyber financial crimes during the last three years; and (d) the arrangements made by the Ministry for public awareness and expeditious grievance redressal in order to protect citizens from such crimes? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI BANDI SANJAY KUMAR) (a) to (d): ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. The States/UTs are primarily responsible for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of crimes including cyber crime through their Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs). The Central Government supplements the initiatives of the States/UTs through advisories and financial assistance under various schemes for capacity building of their LEAs.-2- R.S.US.Q.NO. 553 FOR 04.02.2026 A comprehensive Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been issued by the Central Government on 2nd January 2026. It provides a uniform, victim- centric framework for handling complaints through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS). The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for NCRP-CFCFRMS outlines a dedicated Coordination Mechanism to enhance collaboration, particularly with States and Union Territories, whose police agencies are integral stakeholders in the system. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes the statistical data on crimes in its publication “Crime in India”. The latest published report is for the year 2023. As per the data published by the NCRB, State/UT-wise cases registered under Fraud for Cyber Crimes (involving communication devices as medium/target) during the period from 2021 to 2023 are at the Annexure. The Central Government has taken various initiatives to create public awareness and expeditious grievance redressal in order to protect citizens from cyber financial fraud which, inter-alia, include:- i. The ‘National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal’ (NCRP) (https://cybercrime.gov.in) has been launched, as a part of the I4C,-3- R.S.US.Q.NO. 553 FOR 04.02.2026 to enable public to report incidents pertaining to all types of cyber crimes, with special focus on cyber crimes against women and children. Cyber crime incidents reported on this portal, their conversion into FIRs and subsequent action thereon are handled by the State/UT Law Enforcement Agencies concerned as per the provisions of the law. ii. The ‘Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System’ (CFCFRMS), under I4C, has been launched in year 2021 for immediate reporting of financial frauds and to stop siphoning off funds by the fraudsters. Till 31.12.2025, financial amount of more than Rs. 8,189 Crore has been saved in more than 23.61 lakh complaints. A toll- free Helpline number ‘1930’ has been operationalized to get assistance in lodging online cyber complaints. iii. Caller Tune Campaign: I4C in collaboration with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has launched a caller tune campaign with effect from 19.12.2024 for raising awareness about cybercrime and promoting the Cybercrime Helpline Number 1930 & NCRP portal. The caller tunes were also being broadcast in English, Hindi and 10 regional languages by Telecom Service Providers (TSPs). Six versions of caller tunes were played which cover various modus-operandi, namely, Digital Arrest, Investment Scam, Malware, Fake Loan App, Fake Social Media Advertisements.-4- R.S.US.Q.NO. 553 FOR 04.02.2026 iv. The Central Government has launched a comprehensive awareness programme on digital arrest scams which, inter-alia, include; newspaper advertisement, announcement in Delhi Metros, use of social media influencers to create special posts, campaign through Prasar Bharti and electronic media, special programme on Aakashvani. v. In partnership with DD News, I4C conducted a cybercrime awareness campaign running through Weekly Show Cyber-Alert starting from 19th July 2025 for 52 Weeks. vi. To further spread awareness on cyber crime, the Central Government has taken steps which, inter-alia, include; dissemination of messages through SMS, I4C social media account i.e. X (formerly Twitter) (@CyberDost), Facebook (CyberDostI4C), Instagram (CyberDostI4C), Telegram(cyberdosti4c), SMS campaign, TV campaign, Radio campaign, School Campaign, advertisement in cinema halls, celebrity endorsement, IPL campaign, campaign during Kumbh Mela 2025 & Suraj Kund Mela 2025, engaged MyGov for publicity in multiple mediums, organizing Cyber Safety and Security Awareness weeks in association with States/UTs, publishing of Handbook for Adolescents/Students, digital displays on railway stations and airports across, etc. ******-5- R.S.US.Q.NO. 553 FOR 04.02.2026 ANNEXURE State/UT-wise Cases Registered under Fraud for Cyber Crimes during 2021-2023 SL State/UT 2021 2022 2023 1 Andhra Pradesh 952 984 909 2 Arunachal Pradesh 2 0 0 3 Assam 82 16 0 4 Bihar 1373 1441 2611 5 Chhattisgarh 67 42 29 6 Goa 1 11 0 7 Gujarat 208 108 112 8 Haryana 52 44 11 9 Himachal Pradesh 6 9 7 10 Jharkhand 79 98 43 11 Karnataka 6 0 0 12 Kerala 16 26 117 13 Madhya Pradesh 89 180 91 14 Maharashtra 1678 2202 2075 15 Manipur 0 0 0 16 Meghalaya 0 0 0 17 Mizoram 0 0 0 18 Nagaland 0 0 0 19 Odisha 1205 957 1362 20 Punjab 29 61 25 21 Rajasthan 371 292 84 22 Sikkim 0 0 0 23 Tamil Nadu 107 251 887 24 Telangana 7003 9581 10626 25 Tripura 0 0 0 26 Uttar Pradesh 614 766 287 27 Uttarakhand 0 31 18 28 West Bengal 40 30 7 TOTAL STATE(S) 13980 17130 19301 29 A&N Islands 0 0 0 30 Chandigarh 0 2 0 31 D&N Haveli and Daman & Diu 0 0 0 32 Delhi 19 331 163 33 Jammu & Kashmir 8 7 2 34 Ladakh 0 0 0 35 Lakshadweep 0 0 0 36 Puducherry 0 0 0 TOTAL UT(S) 27 340 165 TOTAL (ALL INDIA) 14007 17470 19466 Source: ‘Crime in India’ published by NCRB. *****